As we grow up, we tend to increase in size depending on what we are consuming. Men who combine alcohol and meat have high chances of developing a beer gut. Some people argue there is no connection between alcohol and the belly pointing to the fact that some teetotalers may also have big bellies. Even if this may be the case, your physiological make can affect the size of your tummy due to high alcohol intake.
Researchers say that a man increases his chances of a growing belling as he keeps on aging and increases his calorie intake. Alcohol enables you to accumulate unnecessary fat around your waistline. If you are in this condition, receive insights from experts regarding causes of a beer belly and solutions to reduce it.
The connection between alcohol and beer gut
Taking high alcoholic content triggers your liver to burn the liquor rather than fat. It also has high amounts of calories ranging from 140-150 calories depending on the type of beer and how much you consume. It is hard for you to take alcohol and not eat. Most alcoholics enjoy a bottle of beer with roasted meat due to a high appetite. This makes you take up unhealthy nutrients from the combination which can cause a beer belly. Since the substance affects your decision-making skills, most people do not control their eating habits under alcohol influence.
According to studies, older people develop beer bellies because their bodies are less active thus, a high possibility for you to gain weight. The fewer hormone levels as you age also contribute to storage of extra fat in the stomach. While women have high levels of subcutaneous fat, taking alcohol allows the fat to be distributed along their arm, bellies, buttocks, and thighs. Men contain few subcutaneous fats making the fat only go to the belly area. If you combine alcohol with cigarettes, it worsens your beer gut.
How risky is a belly gut?
Since women have more areas to distribute fat, men are more prone to severe complications with high alcohol intake. Excess visceral fats surrounding abdominal organs is risky for anyone. You may suffer from heart diseases such as congenital heart disease as well as heart attacks. One is also at risk of high blood pressure and diabetes. Raised cholesterol levels, as well as gall bladder condition also develop from a belly gut. Maintaining a waist circumference of less than forty can prevent you from such situations.
How to prevent a belly gut
Be active
Strengthen your muscles by conducting practices such as sit-ups and jogging at home before you go to work. Feel free to join swimming and tennis to help you regulate your weight. Walking and skipping have also been found to be helpful to reduce belly gut. As your entire body reduces weight, your visceral fat can easily be broken down to make your stomach flat.
Alcohol withdrawal
Abstaining from alcohol is the best solution to keep off belly gut. Start by reducing your intake as you detoxify your body from alcohol contents. You can also start replacing your beer with water to keep your body hydrated as you offer less room for alcohol intake in your stomach. Recovery Village Arvada can help you fight alcohol tolerance to prevent addiction, alcohol detox and fight belly gut.
Enroll in gym classes
Lifting weight can also help you burn calories fast with the help of a gym instructor. Cardiovascular exercises and aerobics also help you tone the muscles around your abdomen. They also improve your metabolism to make your body appear better. You can start with small dumbbells as you gradually increase them to challenge your muscles. Doing crunches prevents you from accumulating extra stomach fat. With time, you will get rid of the gut and develop stomach abs.
Make time for enough sleep
By sleeping, you reduce the urge to feed on snacks for you to regulate your appetite. Enough bedtime hours prevents you from stress and improves your memory, thus keeping your weight in check.
Avoid junk
Belly weight increases with lots of junk food. As you feed on refined grains, you increase the rate of inflammation which hinders you from reducing beer gut. Replace white bread with brown bread and fried foods with boiled ones. They may not taste the same, but the healthier your meals are, the faster you lose the stomach.
Nutrients from healthy vegetables give you anti-oxidants to help prevent inflammation for you to burn calories. Take unpeeled fruits such as apples to gain soluble fiber from them for improved digestion. Reducing the portions of your food can also help you lose weight.
Include protein in your diet
Studies reveal that healthy protein from foods such as lentils and oats can reduce belly fat. They do this by helping you crave fewer foods so that your stomach feels full the entire day. By boosting your metabolism, you can quickly burn fat. Avoid intake of lots of eggs to gain proteins since this comes with more health issues than Greek yogurt.
Control your stress levels
When you are nervous, cortisol levels in your body increase. Most people under stress eat more than usual due to an increase in appetite. You are likely to satisfy the urge of craving to fries and alcohol. This habit aggravates your beer belly as well as affects the quality of your sleep. Your metabolism becomes slow thus reduces the chances of burning calories. Reverse such habits by practicing meditation to keep your stress levels low so that you can reduce your beer belly.
Be patient
Your belly gut may not disappear within two days. Just as it developed with time, it needs you to be patient and maintain discipline with exercise for you to finally realize the transformation. Establish reasonable goals as you record your weight loss journey to evaluate your progress.
Final thoughts
Even though other factors can cause a big belly, alcohol increases the chances of developing one. Start reducing the alcohol content you consume as you change your diet to help you gain a flat stomach.